~𝟯𝟵~

I slammed my hands against the metal table, but my commander didn't even flinch. I stared at the man who had tried to kill me so many times, my hands involuntarily clenching into fists. I knew all the boys were watching from behind the one-way glass. And I knew Chan was probably holding Lee Know back from bursting through the door. 

He didn't seem very fond of the idea of me coming in to interrogate my commander, even after I assured him I was fine. My focus was drawn back to the task at hand when I heard my commander speak.

"So, Agent Noyes. You finally did it. You caught me. Congratulations."

"I don't need your good wishes. What I need to know is why. Why try to kill me? I had nothing against you. You just decided that I wasn't allowed to join the boys and then you tried to kill me. Why is that?" I hissed, trying to keep my anger contained.

"You did something I didn't want you to do," he answered nonchalantly.

"What? Join a new team that you suggested? How is that probable cause for killing someone?"

"You wouldn't know. And you never will. But just know, when I get out of here and get all the charges dropped, I'll come after you again. And this time, I'll hit you where you're the weakest."

I heard the door handle move slightly and I sent a glare at the one-way glass. The door handle stopped moving. I turned my gaze back to my previous commander and leaned down a bit, looking him right in the eye.

"Threats don't work on people who have nothing to lose."

"Oh, but that's where you're wrong, dear. You have something very big to lose. And that thing is standing right behind that glass."

He pointed towards the one-way glass, and my stomach clenched. I grabbed my commander's hair, slamming his cheek onto the metal table; the sound resonating throughout the room.

"If you try anything - and I mean anything - that could even just possibly hurt my members, I will come down on you with the wrath of hell. Do you understand me very clearly?"

When he didn't answer, I slammed his cheek down onto the table again. The door to the room behind the one-way glass suddenly flew open, and Chan took my elbows and dragged me back while Lee Know and Changbin cuffed the commander again and dragged him out of the room. He smirked as he walked past me, making me yank against Chan's grip. He held steady. 

When they were out of my sight, Chan went and closed the door. I dragged my hands through my hair, leaning against the table and dropping my head back. I sighed loudly.

"Surprisingly enough, that went better than I thought it would have. You handled yourself well," Chan said.

"Except for when I assaulted a suspect."

"He's not a suspect. We know he did it. And besides, I would have done more damage if I were you."

He winked at me, smirking. I smiled at him, but I still felt guilty. I thought I would be able to contain my anger. But it just bubbled up so quickly I couldn't stop it. I dropped my head in embarrassment. I saw Chan move to open the door and followed him out. Along the way, Changbin and Lee Know joined us. I wouldn't meet their eyes, too afraid of what I might find there. 

We all started walking again, and I heard Chan and Lee Know saying something about my commander being willing to give me answers. I lifted my head, trying to figure out more of the conversation. They spoke quietly and were walking a bit in front of me, but I just barely made out Chan saying, "absolutely not", making me sigh inwardly with relief. Not surprisingly, Lee Know agreed, him not being very fond of the idea of me interrogating my commander in the first place. 

Then I noticed Changbin walking next to them. He started speaking, but it was so soft, I couldn't make much out. From the looks the others gave him, I deduced he didn't agree with them. 

I almost jumped out of my skin when I suddenly felt a hand brush against my arm. I yelped, moving away from the hand sticking through the bars in the wall. Almost immediately Lee Know was by my side.

"Are you okay? Did he hurt you?" he asked, eyes scanning over me.

"I'm fine. I just got a fright when he suddenly touched me. That's all."

I looked back at the bars to see two menacing eyes staring intently at me. I shivered under the person's gaze. I flinched slightly when Lee Know wrapped an arm around my shoulders, leading me away from the bars. The other two boys quickly scanned me over with their eyes before walking alongside me and Lee Know. He gently rubbed my shoulder, but I stayed tense, my eyes scanning over the bars and the faces behind them.

We finally got out of there and into the dorms. I took a seat on the couch, dropping my head into my hands before running them through my hair. Lee Know came up to me, handing me a glass of water. He sat down next to me, concern in his eyes. I barely pressed my lips to the edge of the glass before the alarm sounded throughout the house. I put the glass down on the table, untouched, before standing up and heading up the stairs with the rest of the boys.

"Good, you're all here," Commander Della Valle said as we all got into the operations room. "I'm sorry to have to send you all off so soon, but I have a mission for you. We got information about a possible informant."

I felt the tension in the room rise significantly at the mention of an informant. The previous mission involving an informant hadn't gone too well.

"She came forward willingly and has agreed to meet with Lee Know. She asked for you by name. Her name is Geneviève."

I heard Lee Know take in a breath next to me and I looked up at him. He had an emotion crossing his face, but before I could place it, it was gone. I looked back at the screen when the commander spoke again.

"This time, I want you all to come back safely, including the informant. No mishaps like last time. I'll send you all the location to meet her at. Dismissed."

At that the screen went black. The room stayed eerily quiet for a while, my breathing sounding like a gunshot against the silence around me. I was the first to move to the pole, slipping down it and into the weapon room. I pressed on my comm, feeling the tight fabric of the bulletproof suit form around me. 

I had just slipped my gun in its holster when the other boys started gathering in the room with me. I noticed Chan and Lee Know didn't suit up like the rest of us. Instead, they just put on bulletproof vests underneath their normal T-shirts. I frowned.

"You must be wondering who Geneviève is," Seungmin voiced suddenly. I didn't notice he had moved to stand next to me.

"Yeah, who is she? Lee Know must know her, because when the commander mentioned her name, he tensed up."

"She's his ex."

I was taken aback at Seungmin's answer. Lee Know had an ex? Lee Know dated? My mind couldn't quite process what I had just heard.

"He hasn't seen her in a while. It ended on relatively okay terms, but he wasn't the same for a long time after. He had actually just started getting back to normal when you came. It was the first time I had seen him smile in about a month when he met you."

I smiled slightly at that, but I felt a pull on my heart. He must really have been hurting. I was dragged from my thoughts when Chan spoke up.

"Let's do this. And like the commander said, let's get everyone out safely."

He didn't sound as confident as he usually did, which I could understand. The ambush had hit him pretty hard. I followed the boys outside, the familiar buzzing of a car engine filling my ears. I realised we weren't driving in the van, instead swapping it for two cars. Chan, Lee Know, Felix and Seungmin climbed into the one car; Changbin, Hyunjin and I.N. taking the other. 

I climbed into the back seat with Hyunjin, buckling up before we were on the road. The car ride was silent, making my heartbeat pound louder and louder in my head with every passing second. I was about to break the silence when we stopped quite suddenly, making me lurch forward.

"Sorry guys. Didn't realise Chan was going to stop that fast," Changbin apologised from behind the wheel. 

I felt a sense of fear and dread creep up my spine as my brain became aware of a hand on my thigh. I looked down to find Hyunjin's hand firmly clasped to my thigh. I moved my leg out from under his hand, turning with my back towards the car door. I closed my eyes and clutched the spot where his hand rested a moment before, desperately trying to erase the feeling of a hand on my thigh from my brain. I flinched when he spoke.

"Hey, are you okay? Did I hurt you? I'm sorry, I was just trying to-"

"To protect me. I know. It's okay," I tried reassuring him – and myself – opening my eyes and looking at him.

"Just brought up some not-so-nice memories."

At that I climbed out of the car, the boys following shortly after. We were quite close to where my apartment was. I recognised the little café that I assumed the girl wanted to meet in. We didn't look very inconspicuous with our suits, but we all gathered in a circle, nonetheless.

"You guys should be able to hear everything through the comms. Seungmin also plans on connecting with the cameras so you can all see us."

Chan's words didn't particularly set me at ease. I started biting on my lip, eyes drawn to the ground in concern. I looked up when I heard someone clear their throat, locking my gaze with Lee Know's. He gave me a reassuring smile, as if to say that he would be fine. I gave him a small nod in return before following the rest of the boys to the cars, leaving him and Chan there. 

I watched as they walking through the café doors, fidgeting. We pulled the cars into a nearby ally to be less conspicuous. We all gathered around Seungmin, who had set up his laptop on the hood of one if the cars.

"I'm in," he announced, the inside of the café coming into view.

I saw the two boys sitting at a table in the corner. Then I felt my body tense when I saw them both lift their heads towards the direction of the door. A girl approached them, her dark hair hanging on her shoulders, hiding her face from the camera's view. Both the boys got up, greeting her. Lee Know came around the side of the table and gave her a hug, which went on way too long for people who were just friends. He hasn't seen her in a while. That's why, I told myself, trying to ignore the same tug in my stomach that I felt last time. 

Luckily, when she sat down we could make out her face. She was beautiful. Her features seemed to have been sculpted by a master of his work. She smiled slightly at the boys, and her smile seemed to brighten up the room. Which only made the tug in my stomach more noticeable. I heard Hyunjin sigh next to me and looked up at him. He seemed troubled.

"You okay?" I asked, putting a hand on his shoulder blade.

"Yeah, just... seeing her brought back some unpleasant memories."

I wanted to ask, but heard the girl start to speak, and turned my attention back to the screen.

"I came here because I think I might have something you could use. And I remembered you worked in the police business, so I thought I could trust you with this."

Lee Know nodded, and Chan spoke.

"What do you know that could help us?" he asked.

"I know where you can find the leader of a big drug syndicate."

I shared a look with all the members around me before settling my gaze back on the screen. But something didn't feel right. Something kept nagging in the back of my brain. My gut told me something was up. And I got the feeling someone was going to get hurt.

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A/N

hey guys :) this was an interesting chapter. what do you guys think the history between Lee Know and Geneviève was like? why does Hyunjin seem troubled? and what is the tug in Ava's stomach? guess you guys will have to wait for the next chapter to find out :P 

hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! leave a :) in the comments if you think Geneviève is sus. again, if you see any errors, don't hesitate to let me know. see you guys in the next chapter :)